JAI KAUR Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AS common questions of law and fact are involved in all these Letters Patent Appeal Nos. 84 to 98, 154, 195 to 205, 263 to 270, 380, 376, 1290 to 1292 of 1991, we propose to decide all these matters by common judgment. The bare minimum facts that need a necessary mention, have, however, been extracted from L.P.A. No. 84 of 1991.

(2.) THE appellants (herein-in-after referred to as 'the claimants') succeeded in getting uniform rates for the entire land irrespective of nature and quality thereof before the learned Additional District Judge, who vide his order dated November 20, 1987, worked out the market value of the acquired land @ Rs. 1,01,000/- per acre, thus, substantially varying the award of the Land Acquisition Collector dated February 22, 1984, who in turn had categorised the land into three categories, namely A, B and C. Whereas the Land Acquisition Collector had assessed Rs. 80,000/- per acre for the land in Category A, categories B and C were assessed at Rs. 52,000/- and Rs. 35,000/- per acre respectively. The claimants have further been successful in getting a substantial increase in compensation when the learned Single Judge enhanced it from Rs. 1,01,000/- per acre to Rs. 37/- per sq. yard vide judgment dated April 9, 1990. It is in their endeavour to get Rs. 55/- per sq. yard as market value of the acquired land that the present appeals under Clause X of the Letter Patent have been filed.

(3.) BEFORE we might comment upon the contentions raised by learned counsel for the claimants, it is necessary to mention that while dealing with the potential of the land so as to be converted into residential and commercial use, learned Additional District Judge returned a firm finding of fact that the acquired land was within the Municipal limits of Kotkapura and had a petrol pump, abadi and bus stand in the near vicinity as shown in Aks. Sajra, Ex. A10. The acquired land shown in Ex. A10 as ABCD, was at the junction of two roads, viz. Kotkapura-Bathinda road and Kotkapura-Moga road whereas there was a kacha passage on the third side. There were shops on both sides of Kotkapura-Bathinda road, Kotkapura-Moga road besides F.C.I. godowns. It was admitted by none other than the witness examined on behalf of the department in his cross-examination that the acquired land was situated at the junction of the roads aforesaid. This finding of the learned Additional District Judge has assumed finality having been upheld by the learned Single Judge and there being no appeal filed on behalf of the respondent-State. It also requires to be mentioned here that sale instances, Ex. A29 dated March 12, 1982, vide which land measuring 1 kanal 1 marla was sold for Rs. 25,000/-, Ex.A31 dated November 18, 1981, vide which land measuring 1 kanal 7 marlas was sold for Rs. 35,000/- and Ex A68 dated February 19, 1982, vide which land measuring 1 kanal 13 marlas was sold for Rs. 30,000/- as also Ex. A5 vide which land measuring 40 kanals 8 marlas situated in the revenue estate of Kotkapura was sold @ Rs. 50/- per sq. yard came to be focused, both by the learned Additional District Judge and the learned Single Judge. The average sale price of sale instances, Ex. A29, A31 and A-68 works out to be Rs. 44.44 per sq. yard. In view of learned single Judge, some cut had to be applied on average sale price of exhibits, referred to above, even though the said cut was not specified and in ultimate analysis while slashing down the price by one-third from the one represented by Ex. A5, claimants were held entitled to Rs. 37/- per sq. yard. As mentioned above, claimants crave for more i.e. Rs. 55/- per square yard. Is this claim justified or, in other words, can the market value be enhanced from the one worked out by the learned Single Judge, is the sole question which needs adjudication in these appeals.